Lemon Shrimp and Pasta

I whipped up something the other night and fell in love with the results! Its sooo good and EASY that I just had to share!

If you love lemon and spicy, then you will love this! I really didn't measure anything, so I will do my best to give estimates!

Lemon Shrimp and Pasta
1/2 pound of shrimp
1/2 pound of pasta (I like spaghetti, or linguine, but really anything will work!)
1 lemon (zest it until you have about 1 tsp)
1 cup of chicken stock or broth(whatever you have)
1/2 cup of white wine (although I always add more =)
2 tsp of minced garlic
Dried Basil
Dried Parsley
Crushed red pepper
1tbsp of olive oil
1/4 cup butter (less if you care so much)

Boil the pasta. Add the olive oil to a saute pan, and heat on medium.

Add the garlic and cook for about 1 min. then add the broth, wine, lemon zest, juice from the lemon.

The add a couple dashes of the parsley and basil, and as much red pepper as you want (the more you add the spicier it is!). Add salt and pepper to taste and bring it to a boil, then turn down to simmer while the pasta cooks.

When there is about a minute left for the pasta, add your shrimp and butter to the sauce and cook for 2-3 minutes, until the shrimp is done.

Drain the pasta and toss with the shrimp sauce and enjoy!

A couple of things to note about this recipe, is that you could swap the shrimp for chicken, you will just need to add the chicken way before to allow it to cook the whole way. You could also add some broccoli or asparagus! I love this sauce, and could probably put it on anything!

All Before 7am...

This morning sucked the big one! It was like the universe was telling me to stay in bed and sleep. I wish. Instead, I overslept.

It all started with not finding anything to wear, then getting the kids up and having to deal with snotty tired attitudes. As we got in the car, Alex has a freakout because he can't get his seat buckled, and continues to cry and grunt as we drive down the road. Then I spill coffee down the front of my shirt...stellar.

Finally I get to my Dad's drop off the kids, and drive to work in a daze. As I arrive at the office, I notice I have 2 small holes in the side of my shirt, and that I forgot my cellphone....ugh. Too bad dressing like a hobo is not in style, otherwise I'd be all set in my coffee stained and holy shirt.

UGH....is 9:30 am too early for a margarita????

Sometimes all you need is a song...

There are days when I hear a song and it just wraps up everything I'm feeling that day. This morning I heard this song and it just fit!

A side note - I LOVE Ingrid Michaelson! She is great, and this one is hers:

So Long

You've made me into someone
Who should not hold a loaded gun

And now you sit upon my chest
Knock out my wind, knock out my best

And So Long to no disasters and mornings too
And so long to ever afters, so long to you

I am soft for only you
Impale me with your tongue, it's true

And slices of me piled sky high
The same old me to the naked eye
But I can't find myself tonight

And so long to no disasters and mornings too
And so long to ever afters, so long to you

-kpop

My Doodle Bug & Bubba Bear

My baby graduated from Kindergarten yesterday, and today is her last day at school. I can hardly believe it! It seems like just yesterday I was carrying her around on my hip, and watching her toddle around as she learned to walk. The funny thing about her is that she has always wanted to be held and carried, even now as a 5 year old. She never goes too far and always comes back for that affection. I hope as she turns six this August, that she never stops this. She is such an amazing little girl, and the things she has been through in the past year have not rocked her, or changed her from being the loveable, kind, affectionate, caring little girl that she is.

I hope she will always stay strong through life's challenges and embraces change even when it is not desirable.

A recent qoute from the doodle bug "Mom, I am not an ordinary girl, I can figure things out, and I like to go places" My response is, no way are you ordinary! You are extraordinary!

Love her to pieces.

Bubba bear is finishing up second grade today, and that fact alone will make me start crying. Third grade for him next year - Yikes! Seriously, where did the time go? He is my quiet one. I have noticed a change in him this year, he is starting to mature. He does not need me as much, he is very independent and can do most things for himself now. He lives to be with his friends and for playing outside.

I went in to have lunch with him recently in school and he literally ignored me the whole time and was goofing with his friends. AT first this made me sad and a little mad because he insisted that I come sit with him at lunch. Afterwards, I started thinking, that its ok that he ignored me, because he knew I was there. When he thinks back to his days in grade school, he will rememeber that his Mom made the time to come have lunch with him. I guess in the end that is all that matters. I am going to have to get used to this, because this is only the beginning!

They both make me want to be a better Mom everyday, and I will do my best to do just that.

"Home is where your kids are" -Kpop

Fighting it today...

You know the urge to crawl into a deep dark hole and never come out. Today is one of those days when I feel my self slipping into that deep dark place, where anger and sadness takeover. It's hard to keep myself from giving in to it. The pain can be too much and it just seems easier to stop fighting it. In the past year, I've discovered strength I didn't even know I had. The strength to get out of bed every day and get through the daily routine. There is one reason for this, and its my kids. If it weren't for them, I think I would not have made it. But then there are these days that creep up and hit you like a ton of bricks, and it feel its impossible to free myself from it. I use the term fight, because that is exactly what it feels like, except I don't get to actually punch anyone, although that would be cool...just kidding.

I have been thinking a lot about "home" lately and what that means to me. As I prepare to put the house up for sale its been hard to think that we will be leaving this home. But, I have come realize that instead of the phrase, "home is where the heart is" I'm sating that "home is where my kids are" and as long as I am with them, it doesn't matter where we are. They are my life, and the only thing that gets me through the day, especially on a day like this one.

A Day in the Life of a Single Parent

Seriously, I never knew it would be this hard! I was thinking of everythign I had to get done yesterday and where the kids needed to be and what they needed for school the next day, and what to pack for lunches, and OMG what to feed them for dinner before baseball, and it got me thinking...

Wow, there is so much to do all the time, and it never stops. I have been a single parent for 6 months now and the daily routine is just about killing me. It's hard, and never gets easier. I remember when I started out this new life, thinking to myself, "oh it will get easier with time" but this is just not true. It has remained hard and tiring. I have learned to be more efficient with my time, to let some things go, because seriously, there is just no time!

I thought it may be interesting to see what my typical day looks like. This was yesterday:

5:15 - wake up, shower, make myself presentable.
6:00 - Open the kids doors and windows, my first attempt to wake them up!
6:15 - Start coffee, take Rufus out, then feed him and Phoebe the cat.
6:25 - Go get both kids up for good, get Aubree dressed, and do her hair. Thank goodness Alex can get himself dressed and can "kind of" fix his hair.
6:30 - pack lunches, pack bags, check school calendars for any extra things we may need to remember, get coats/shoes on, and most importantlt remember my coffee!
6:40 - Put Rufus in the kennel, and get all the bags, and get in the car.
6:50 - Drop kids off at Dads, then drive to work.
7:15 - Arrive at work, ahhhh now I can breathe, drink my coffee, and start work!
3:00 - leave work
3:25 - Speed shop at Tops to get milk, bread, creamer, and necessities that we are out of.
3:50 - Get home, unload groceries, take Rufus out.
4:00 - Kids get off the bus, and now homework time.
4:15 - unpack school bags, go through paperwork, do homework, re-pack bags for the next day, and include a snack for each kid.
4:30 - Feed both kids, because its baseball night.
5:00 - Change for baseball, pack activities for Aubree do do while at baseball.
5:15 - Feed Rufus and Phoebe and take him out
5:30 - leave for baseball
8:00 - Get home, and rush rush to get both kids bathed (only if really dirty =) PJ's on, teeth brushed, and to bed ASAP!
8:15 - Pack my lunch for the next day, get the coffee ready for the am, and give Rufus his treat for the day!
8:30 - Finally, sit down, watch some TV, fold a load of laundry.
9:30 - Take Rufus out, go up to bed, and read some more.
10:00 - Pass out from exhaustion =)

Then it all starts over again at 5:15 the next morning!

I have to admit I am looking forward to summer, and I'm hoping that we will get some more down time in our daily schedule, but we shall see!

The Single Life

I've never heard anyone talk about the benefits of being single. We usually hear how badly we want to be in a relationship, and how we envy everyone else....well let me tell ya, there are many benefits to living the single life, and here are my top 5:

1. Clean bathroom always, no hair, no toothpaste stuck to the sink, and the best part is there is not pee splashed all over the toilet!!
2. You get the bed all to yourself!
3. Once the kids are in bed, the TV is all yours.
4. If you want to eat ice cream and sit in your underwear, there is no judgement.
5. You can do anything you want whenever you want, and your schedule is your only concern.

I could go on and on, but I won't. I have made many discoveries living this life I am now, and they are not all bad! I think a lot of times women don;t realize how strong they are until the are emotionally separated from a man. You get so used to relying on this other person, that you think you cannot live without them. I thought this at one time, and remember telling people, I could never make it as a single parent. Well, obviously that is not the truth, not even close! I have found strength I didn't even know I possessed. I think this is probably the case for most single Mom's. I'm not saying that it is easy, its definitely NOT easy, but it can be done, and that is what's important!

I don't know what my future holds, but whatever it is I know that I will be happy, because I won;t settle for anything less ever again.